Identifying Hazards
What is a Hazard?
OSHA defines a hazard as, 'a danger which threatens physical harm to employees..' Expanding on that basic definition, we can think of a hazard as an 'unsafe workplace condition or practice (danger) that could cause an injury or illness (harm) to employees."
A hazard may be an object or thing that is present or absent (e.g., tools, equipment, machinery, materials). It may also be or a worker (e.g., when hurried, distracted, or mentally/physically incapable). It's important to know that a hazard is only one factor causing accidents. Before an injury accident can occur, two factors must be present:
- a hazard, and
- employee exposure to the hazard.
It takes both a hazard and exposure to a hazard to cause an accident. No hazard: no accident. No exposure: no accident.
Look Around
If you look around the workplace, you may be able to locate a few hazardous conditions or unsafe work practices without too much trouble. Did you know that, at any time, OSHA inspectors can announce their presence at your business front door to begin a comprehensive compliance inspection. What would they find? What do they look for?
If you used the same inspection strategy as an OSHA inspector, wouldn't that be smart? You can get a good idea what OSHA looks for by reviewing the OSHA Field Operations Manual (FOM) and OSHA Technical Manual(OTM).
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
1-1. Before an accident can occur, _____ must exist.
You forgot to answer the question!